Record numbers turn out at advance polls

Canadian voters turned out in record numbers over the Thanksgiving long weekend to cast their ballots at advance polls in the federal election.

Final numbers were yet to be tallied, but it appeared by Monday night that something in the range of three million votes had been cast in polling stations from coast to coast to coast over the four-day period. The heightened turnout began Friday on the first day of polling, with an estimated 850,000 people voting — a 26 per cent increase over the 2011 election.

By the end of the second day on Saturday, that number had jumped to 1,642,000 — a 34 per cent jump over the 1,223,000 electors who voted in the first two days of advance polls in the 2011 election.

By Sunday that number had risen to 2.4 million, according to Elections Canada — up 15 per cent from the total three-day tally in the 2011 vote.

Monday’s polling — the fourth day of advance polls — was to be available Tuesday, but if the first three days were any indication there was every likelihood the advance total could push into the three million range.

“It was extremely, extremely busy all weekend,” Joan O’Neill, a liaison officer who oversees 15 electoral districts in Eastern Ontario, said late Monday. “Sunday was heavier than Friday, and Monday was heavy, too.”

On Monday night, voters at the polling station at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on the corner of Kent Street and James Avenue waited about 45 minutes to cast their ballots.

Heavy voter turnout at advance polls is commonly thought to be sign voters want change and that the incumbent party could be in trouble.

But Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said turnout at advance polls is typically no indication of how many people will vote on election day, although there are signs that turnout on Oct. 19 will outpace that of recent races.

The election is highly competitive with a three-way battle between Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats, which will motivate more voters to cast ballots, Williams said. “We’ve not seen a three-way battle for first place, and the position of first place and second place and third place all shifting throughout the election campaign,” Williams said.